This study documents how the social education curriculum in Hong Kong has changed since Hong Kong's return to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Employing qualitative methods of classroom observations, interviews, and documentary analysis, the researchers found changes in mandated topics in the curriculum (such as increased attention to global issues, global economic connections, Chinese identity), pedagogy (such as strategies for active learning), resources (such as materials from UNICEF) and attitudes (such as empathy for people in less developed parts of the world). The findings also include a comparison of local versus international schools, changes in teacher education courses, and teachers' perspectives on issues they face today.

In general, the findings of the research project have shown that the pre-service teachers at the Hong Kong Institute of Education were not very competent in the implementation of civic education as embodied in the "Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools" prepared by the Curriculum Development Council and issued by the Education Department of Hong Kong in 1996. not that they lacked the skills in teaching, but they simply did not know how to transfer the skills into civic education both inside and outside the classrooms. Even worse, a majority of them revealed that they had not read the "Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools" and that they lacked the knowledge of Hong Kong, China and world affairs which are indispensable elements in pedagogical contents. Under such conditions, it would be inconceivable that the student-teachers could develop a positive and pro-active attitude towards civic education. By utilizing the method of documentary analysis and the approach of induction, this paper aims to identify the factors that have accounted for the deficiencies in civic education at tertiary level and explore the ways through which the pre-service teachers' competence and quality in such aspect could be enhanced. It is hoped that the suggested programmes or methods could help equip the pre-service teachers better for coping with the changes that have been taking place in Hong Kong and the challenges that the future world holds in store.

Civic education has been re-surging in Hong Kong schools since the process of re-integration with China, which was began in the 1980s. During the process, two sets of guidelines on civic education have been issued, generating much impact on the curriculum development of schools in the related area. This chapter adopts a case study approach to develop a focused and in-depth study of a secondary school, which is renowned for its achievements in implementing civic education in local context. Various research instruments and methods, including questionnaire survey, focused interview and content (documentary) analysis are used to study the changes in the school context as well as the inhibiting and facilitating factors in the process of implementing civic education through the Whole-School or Permeation Approach. It is expected that the findings could generate revelatory impact on the future betterment of civic education in secondary schools.
[Copyright © 2007 International Cultural Research Network Press.]

Inquiry learning (IL) is one of the most prominent features of the New Senior Secondary Curriculum reform and has become a major approach in the teaching and learning of many subjects. However, it remains open to what teachers’ perception of IL is and what extent IL is actually used in day-to- day teaching. In the study presented here we elaborate— from the perspective of social science teachers—the current status of IL in day-to-day teaching and the difficulties they encountered in implementing IL, based on the analysis of relevant data collected from a survey, interviews, classroom observations and documents. Further, in order to gain insights on multiple factors that influence teachers’ perception and implementation of IL, a comparative study between two case schools was conducted. We present selected results from this comparative study that for the first time provides general ideas of senior secondary social science teachers’ perceptions and current use of IL, as well as how school context, curriculum and measurement, the support from students and parents affect teachers’ perceptions and implementation of IL in the context of Hong Kong.

The new curriculum reform documents and syllabuses in Hong Kong have been putting emphasis on learning beyond classroom and life-wide learning. Learning through the use of museum has been promoted by teachers as a channel for learning in the field. However, there is a paucity of research into the actual impact of museum education on teaching and learning as well as its connectivity with the formal curriculum. This paper seeks to adopt a case study with the use of qualitative approach to analyse the practices and problems of learning in and through the museum, with a view to exploring possible alternatives for the improvement in pedagogical devices.